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Logrolling "win-win" settlement in construction dispute mediation

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Logrolling "win-win" settlement in construction dispute mediation Authors: Qu, Yingying ( 瞿瑛瑛) Abstract: Conflict and dispute regularly feature in the construction industry. Mediation is generally regarded as an effective means to resolve disputes due to its flexibility, cost-effectiveness and non-threatening process. Reaching "win-win" settlement is the desired outcome of mediation. A "win-win" settlement can be seen as one that encourages parties to uphold their contracts when one party achieve its profits and the other party would still be better off. However, this desired outcome is not always achieved. Logrolling is an effective strategy for achieving integrative trade-off, by which each party concedes on low priority issues in exchange for concessions on issues of higher priority to themselves. There is no literature on the empirical work of logrolling to mediate a "win-win" settlement. This research fills the gap by studying the effectiveness of logrolling to assist disputants to achieve "win-win" settlement. Logrolling can be described as procedures that generate jointly improving proposals from non-Pareto optimal alternative towards a Pareto optimal alternative. However these logrolling models follow the solution path which guides parties negotiate over inefficient offers and end with an efficient compromise, in which way negotiators have to consider offers which they should never choose. Highest-level integrative agreements are considered efficient. Efficiency in negotiations is in some sense, equivalent to the efficient frontier. Therefore a conceptual model of logrolling in mediation is proposed through which parties could improve the joint value by bargaining exchange and get convergence along the efficient frontier. Parties are proposed to begin with their most preferred position and concede at minimum loss in exchange for maximum benefit to the other party. To achieve it, a multi-objective decision making (MODM) model is employed to propose approximate efficient frontier and assist parties to engender "win-win" settlement. To operationalize the conceptual model, a web-based mediation system is developed to facilitate parties to achieve "win-win" settlement in a user-friendly environment. The system can be accessed on website http://www.cdrru.org:8000/mediation/. The system includes 3 processes: reality test, preference identification and logrolling. Reality test is proposed to test parties' concession rate and assist disputing parties to get ready for achieving "win-win" settlement. The preference identification is designed to assist parties to identify the preference of each bargaining alternative. Reality test and preference identification are designed for logrolling information collection. The logrolling process is to provide user-friendly suggestions for parties to make efficient trade-off, which involves (1) when to concede; on which issue (3) for which party and (4) how much should be conceded. Based on the above conceptualization, a mediation experiment is used to examine whether the mediation system can assist parties to achieve the "win-win" settlement, where the mediation system is to serve as a mediator in action. The experiment is designed to collect data to compare (1) the logrolling outcomes between accepting the mediator's suggestion and those rejecting the mediator's suggestion; (2) the logrolling outcomes between far from efficient frontier and close to efficient frontier; (3) expected logrolling outcomes and actual logrolling outcomes. As for the evaluation requirement, it should be under the same logrolling data set to evaluate objectives (1) and (2). It is better to examine objective (3) under customized logrolling data set. In this research, objective (3) is evaluated both under the same logrolling data set and under customized logrolling data set, so that the differences in results under the two situations can be illustrated for comparison. The experiment has two stages. In Stage I the experiment is conducted 'under the same logrolling data set'. In Stage II the experiment is conducted 'under customized logrolling data set'. The results are evaluated by 4 criteria: joint value, concession rate, substitute rate and welfare rate in examining objective (1). The substitute rate is taken to be one party's loss in terms of the other party's gain. The welfare rate is taken to be the gain in joint value in terms of one party's loss. The results positively support the hypothesis that accepting the mediator's suggestion can achieve greater joint value, make greater integrative concessions, reduce substitute rate and enhance welfare rate in bargaining exchange, than those rejecting the mediator's suggestion. Efficient frontier in economics, is where alternative is worse than what they could achieve. Based on the concept of efficient frontier, the mediation system is developed to assist parties to achieve the "win-win" settlement. It is believed that the subjects moving closer to the efficient frontier can achieve greater joint value, make greater concession, with lower substitute rate and higher welfare rate, than those farther from the efficient frontier. The results are evaluated by the concession level, joint value level, substitute level and welfare level, which represent to what extent the outcomes are optimal or how much room for improvement. The results show that the closer to the efficient frontier, the lesser the room of improvement on concessions and joint value, and the more optimal the substitute rate and welfare rate. Thus efficient Frontier theory can be used to support the mediation system to facilitate negotiators to achieve "win-win" settlement. The logrolling-difference degree (L-DD) is defined as the measure for comparison between expected logrolling outcomes and actual logrolling outcomes. The smaller the L-DD, the closer are the actual outcomes to the efficient frontier. It is found that the L-DD in bargaining range is 4.4% in Stage I and 11.43% in Stage II. The L-DD in reaching agreement is 2.37% in Stage I and 8.46% in Stage II. With replicating prior work, the L-DD in reaching agreement task is smaller than in bargaining range task, since subjects can achieve more efficient trade-off in the logrolling process, assisted with the mediation system. The results also reveal that negotiators who make greater concessions to the other party do not place themselves at a disadvantaged position, however, reluctant to make concessions does result in suboptimal outcomes. Literature on social dilemmas assume that actors only focus on their own outcomes. However, the findings reveal that subjects do give some weight to their counterparts. Since negotiation is in essence decision making in value distribution between self and the other, the logrolling outcomes of both self and other are conducted. It is shown that, driven by self-interest motivation, the subjects distribute more value on "Self and less on "Other" than expected. However the difference is not significant, with value distribution on "Self" (F=1.01, P<0.05; T=0.27, P<0.1) and "Other" (F=1.07, P<0.05; T=0.69, P<0.1), respectively. In conclusion, the mediation system is consistent with the logrolling conceptual model and is effective to assist parties to achieve "win-win" settlement. Notes: CityU Call Number: TH425 .Q3 2011; vii, 116, 27, 27 leaves : ill. 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-115)

Anatomy of construction disputes

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Anatomy of construction disputes Authors: Pang, Hoi Yan ( 彭凱欣) Abstract: Construction projects are often delivered under a complex and uncertain environment, with claims being an inevitable part. Construction disputes materialise if construction claims are not settled in an effective, economical and timely manner. However, resolving disputes can be expensive and time consuming. Therefore, it is pertinent to study the causes, sources, characteristics and manifestations of construction disputes. Although prevention is better than cure, the understanding of the characteristics of disputes alone will not reveal the root causes of such construction disputes. Therefore, this study aims to examine construction disputes by conceptualising the contributors to the dispute. By examining their likelihood of occurrence, the causes of construction disputes can also be assessed. Sectoral differences arising from the different nature of works are examined. In this research, an automated evaluation system for predicting the likelihood of the occurrence of construction disputes was developed for data collection. The automated system assists project managers to instantly identify the dispute manifestation. While technical problems of construction are complex, they are usually manageable. However, disputes are different as they involve contractual ramifications and human factors. In this study, artifacts of construction dispute are grouped into task factors, contract incompleteness and human factors. Task factors are those directly affected by high uncertainty and the non-performance of project team members. Contract incompleteness arises due to unforeseeable contingencies and the complexity of construction. Human factors are influenced by behavioural habits and the psychological distress of human beings. This conceptualization enables the identification of critical components of construction disputes. A detailed review of previous research on construction disputes and a pilot study consisting of 24 construction professionals were conducted to long-list the principal artifacts of dispute manifestation. The proposed anatomy of construction disputes assists the categorization of the types of construction disputes. A panel of construction professionals was asked to comment on the proposed categorization and the artifacts of dispute manifestation. The results obtained from the pilot study supported that the three categories of task factors, contract incompleteness and human factors as the key ingredients of construction disputes. Based on the anatomy of construction disputes, the fuzzy sets approach was integrated with probability theory and employed to construct a fuzzy fault tree model for construction disputes. In addition, previous studies and applications of fault tree assessment were reviewed. In a fault tree model, the interrelationships among the artifacts of construction disputes are represented by logic gates. The proposed fault tree model of construction dispute was piloted with a panel of construction professionals. As a result, a refined list of artifacts was used to construct a fuzzy fault tree model for construction disputes. The tree-levels and basic faults in the fault tree model are developed according to the consolidation of experts‘ opinions to enhance the authenticity of the fuzzy fault tree model. Construction disputes, which are the top event in the fuzzy fault tree model, can be subdivided into contractual disputes and speculative disputes. The listed artifacts are confirmed as the basic faults of construction disputes, being the second sub-level of the fuzzy fault tree model. The fuzzy fault tree approach allows for the analytical assessment of the occurrence likelihood of construction disputes. In addition, the fault tree model facilitates devising an empirical study of construction disputes occurrence. In order to determine an effective method for immediately obtaining the results of the occurrence likelihood of construction disputes, the refined model is used to develop a web-based evaluation system. The web-based assessment automatically evaluates the occurrence likelihood of construction disputes from the input of participants. As such, project managers can thus identify the manifestation of the dispute, continuously monitor project performance and highlight the behavioural and psychological profiles of the project team members. The results obtained from the empirical study indicate that contractual disputes have a similar severity to speculative disputes. In addition, the proposed ingredients of construction disputes, including task factors, contract incompleteness and human factors, are present in all construction projects. Contract incompleteness is found to be the most serious problem in construction projects. Ambiguities, deficiencies and inconsistencies in contractual documents illustrate the incompleteness of construction contracts. The results indicated that contractual disputes mostly arise due to insufficient details, contradictory information and inconsistent details in drawings. Human factors are also considered as another problem in contractual disputes. During the construction process, consultants often fail to provide information in a timely manner. In addition, clients‘ unreasonable requests often trigger compensation claims. Human factors are also identified as an underlying motive of speculative disputes. The findings confirmed that the probabilities of speculative disputes are dynamically associated with the behavioural attitudes of project team members. Opportunistic behaviour is found to be significant in the construction industry. Clients typically reject outright extension of time and monetary claims submitted by contractors. Likewise, contractors often inflate claims. The results indicated that the occurrence likelihood of speculative disputes increases due to either structural problems of construction contracts or the non-performance of contracting parties. In practice, it is common for arguments over issues arising from contract incompleteness and incompatibilities during co-orporation would cause adversarial attitudes to arise among project team members. Due to the unique particulars of individual construction projects, the occurrence likelihood of contractual disputes and speculative disputes differ. The anatomy of construction disputes assists construction participants to conceptualize the development of disputes in their particular project. The results of this study successfully illustrated the interrelationship among dispute components. The fault tree model enabled an empirical evaluation of occurrence likelihood of construction disputes. Notes: CityU Call Number: TH425 .P27 2011; xi, 172, [18] leaves : ill. 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-172)

A study on benchmarking the productivity level of the building construction industry of Hong Kong

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Title: A study on benchmarking the productivity level of the building construction industry of Hong Kong Authors: Chan, Kwok Keung (陳國强) Abstract: The report of the Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC) suggested that construction costs in Hong Kong are relatively high and the industry must improve its efficiency and productivity substantially to stay competitive". Related to the study of CIRC are two benchmarking studies conducted by Levett and Bailey (L&B) in 2000 and Davis Langdon and Seah (DLS) in 2002. Both studies confirmed that the construction costs in Hong Kong were higher than other major cities in the World. Yet, the work of both L&B and DLS was conducted on a broad brush basis. Therefore, their observation must be superficial by nature; it can neither confirm that on equal basis construction in Hong Kong is really more expensive nor identify the underlying reasons for the scenarios depicted from their observation. To investigate into the subject, in this research, studies were conducted on the following heads: a) Two forums of construction practitioners were organised to identify contributing factors which may affect construction costs and productivity. b) A questionnaire survey adopting the Delphi Method was administered to identify the implications of each individual contributing factor on construction costs and productivity. c) A comparison of the construction costs, including labour, material and overall project costs, as recorded by well recognized publications. d) Construction project costs, with breakdown to elemental costs level, of various projects selected from Hong Kong, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore and Shekou were compared. e) A labour head-count of three projects selected from Hong Kong and two projects selected from the Mainland China was conducted to identify the labour productivity The findings of the above studies do not support that on equal basis building construction in Hong Kong was more expensive and construction productivity was lower in the predominant period of the study. The phenomenon of apparently high construction costs and low construction productivity can be explained by factors which are largely beyond the control of the local contractors and material suppliers. The research project demonstrates that benchmarking of construction productivity levels across-economy can be made through the use of an integrated approach of sample comparisons - based on data contained in project documents from different places. Recommendations on the mechanism considered as suitable for implementing the integrated approach for benchmarking construction productivity level internationally are made; and recommendations on further studies in the subject are given. Notes: CityU Call Number: HD9715.C63 H664 2006; x, 179 leaves : ill. 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2006.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-166)

Sound propagation and wind flow around blockages and their correlation

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Sound propagation and wind flow around blockages and their correlation Authors: Lau, Chau Ming (劉秋明) Abstract: This study focuses on the behaviors of and the correlation between sound propagation and airflow around blockages and inside group of buildings. The ODEON and CFX software packages are used to simulate sound propagations and airflows in two types of models: a single vertical barrier model and a model of a group of buildings. To verify the airflow model, the simulation results are compared with experimental data obtained from a wind tunnel. In general, the experimental results show a reasonable level of agreement with the simulation results. The effects of different parameters on sound and flow reductions in the simulation models are also studied. Correlations between sound reduction and airflow reduction in different conditions are obtained and investigated. The main contribution of this study is to provide evidence on the correlation between sound reduction and airflow propagation. The results could potentially be used in converting sound reduction data - the onsite measurement of which is more reliable and straightforward - to airflow reduction data - the onsite measurement of which is subject to fluctuations due to uneven prevailing and local winds. Notes: CityU Call Number: TH1725 .L33 2010; ix, 101 leaves : ill. (some col.) 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-101)